A small team of us attended the Brand Neiuwe Conference in Amsterdam – a symposium on the latest thinking and direction of brand and brand identity. The two day event gathered together over 300 global leaders of branding to hear from the creators of case studies that have generated interest such as The Premier League, Spotify, Mozilla and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

From seasoned professionals, who presented with confidence and gusto, to smaller agencies sharing projects for the first time. The subjects covered were varied and included topics such as, new processes for large and small-scale branding programmes and insights into managing the fallout when a brand is launched and subsequently blasted on social media.

Particular attention was given to the branding process. The importance of digging deeper to discover distinctive brand pillars and focusing on who you are doing this for – the audience. Consideration was also given to leading clients through creative work. Every case study was exemplary in standard, and the passion and insight from seasoned practitioners confirmed the reasons why we got into the industry in the first place – to be creative, to challenge, to have a point of view and to have fun.

Highlights included:

– “The Simplification of the Process” by Michael Johnson and his insight into connecting strategy with creativity

– Sagi Haviv and his sharing of a number of case studies and the pitfalls of these projects in a humorous and down to earth manner

– Brian Collins and his passion for design, his team and their projects

– DixonBaxi on being restless and always pushing forward

– Essen International for being the nicest guy presenting

– DesignStudio for the insight of the process and the championing of what we do

Thanks must be given to Armit and Bryony, of UnderConsideration, for putting the energy and time into the event and for creating a compelling conference that focuses on the process, projects and people.